Ladies Man
by JuwahBel
Summary: This goes against my usual stories and BA by making them dislike each other. Oh yeah, Eames can't stand Goren in this one. Be open-minded! Ha ha.


**Author's Note: Hello! I read an interview with VDO and Kate Erbe this week. Comments they made about not seeing their partners going any further in their relationship really gave me the idea for this story. The whole idea is: What if Eames and Goren really weren't emotionally involved, or actually didn't like each other? It may sound like Goren is upset about her not liking him, however I was trying to portray him as curious. He is just using Eames as an example of all the women that have rejected him in his life. **

**Please Review! Let me know if I should continue this. Thank you!**

Goren had always seen the way she looked at him. Sometimes she cared, sometimes her eyes were filled with loathing. She would furrow her brow then stomp away in disgust while he was left trying to sort it all out. She would approach him somedays with a light in her eye, while others she left him with regret and disapproval.

He had had feelings for her early in their partnership. These were not romantic but infatuation. Ever since childhood, Bobby would attach himself onto a newly formed friendship until the ties were severed and the two drifted apart. The ties in this partnership were definitely severed. This had happened to him over and over again, so he wasn't too shocked when he realized their relationship would never evolve past the squad room.

Eames was now sitting across from him at her desk. She was ruffling through paperwork, the usual Friday afternoon routine. Bobby was procrastinating, not wanting to go back to his gloomy apartment that smelled of dirty laundry and trash.

_You drive women away, you stupid oaf..._Bobby rested his forehead on his hand which was propped up by his elbow on the desk top. He stared down at his lap. The starch in the suit had been scratchy all day. There's nothing like a hot summer day in a starched suit.

Eames put all the papers in a pile, stood, and grabbed her bag.

"Leaving?" Goren asked. She turned around reluctantly and shifted all of her weight to her left leg.

"Yeah. I have a zoo-date with my nephew." She spoke with annoyance lacing her words. She sighed and stared at him, wanting this awkward conversation to be over.

"Have fun," He muttered. Goren then averted his gaze to some random thing on his desk hoping it would make him seem like he had better things to do than talk to her.

She stalked off, waving to the people in the squad room, wishing them to have good weekends. Alex was friendly to them, but cold to Bobby. Why? Had he not been kind to her this entire time? He didn't understand her at all. He knew that she had entered this partnership a fresh widow, but that shouldn't handicap her relationship with him. Bobby was kind, caring, a strong wall for her to lean on, but all she had done since those first few years was reject him.

Was it his interrogation methods? Bobby knew she didn't like them. She always called his name in a stern voice when she thought he was going too far. She almost acted like a mother warning her stubborn small child to stop touching the dead jelly fish on the beach.

Bobby looked around his desk. His paper work was done so there was no need for him to be here. He stood, grabbed his things, then left the room himself.

* * *

The warm NYC breeze tickled the hair on the back of Goren's neck. He had left the squad room, went home, then made his way to Central Park.

He was now seated on a bench over looking a large field. Children were running around, couples were having picnics, college kids were playing ultimate frisbee. The sun beat down on them all except for the few who had managed to grab a spot of shade. One of those lucky few was Bobby. He was lounging on his bench underneath an ancient tree that was knotted like the face of an old woman.

This bench was his own private island that floated in the sea of green grass and happiness. These frolickers were not picnickers and frisbee-players, they were members of his sea who danced around Bobby's island, amusing him and putting a smile on his face.

Bobby closed his eyes and leaned his head back. The laughs of children filled his head along with shouts of glee and playful jokes. He wanted these things so badly. He wanted to come home to a loving wife and three small children who called him 'daddy' and couldn't wait for him to come home every evening. He wanted that special dance with his daughter where she would stand on his feet and he would guide her around the dance floor. He wanted a wedding, a honeymoon, fights and reconciliation. He wanted to be able to leave home in the morning and return at night knowing that those he left would still be there.

He wouldn't ever have that, though. Eames had proved that. She was his last hope of reaching out to a female, any female, and it had failed. She now despised him, didn't want anything to do with him. Who was there when his own partner didn't want to be around him?

He had had his chances but, like everything in his life, they had slipped out of his hands. Bobby had once been handsome, lean, able to charm the ladies with a smile. Now he was just old, grey, overweight, and revolting. Women didn't look at him the same way anymore. Even if they did gaze upon him with eyes filled with wonder and attraction, he would eventually turn them away.

The only thing he had left was memories. Memories of those early years at MCS where he and Eames were inseparable, those women he would date, late night telephone calls with cute girls in high school. As the cheesy cards and scrapbooks say, "memories are forever."

A small child, perhaps 4, walked by the lonely old man on the bench. The boy held a balloon in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other. He was licking away, unaware of all of the problems he would have later on in life. His mother followed shortly after, holding the end of the leash that was attached to the monkey backpack strapped to her son's back. The woman was chatting on the phone to what sounded like a girlfriend. Within seconds, the two were gone and Bobby was left alone once more.

What was so wrong with Goren? Was he not the same as any other man? He had the same equipment, the same yearnings, the same hormones, practically the same everything! The only thing that made him stand out was his personality. Goren recognized that he was different from others, but he hadn't fully accepted it as a problem until now. Eames was the one who had brought it to his attention because she was the perfect example of a woman who accepted him early on but then rejected him.

Bobby pulled a handkerchief out of his shorts pocket and dabbed his forehead with it. He was much cooler and comfortable now that he had accoutered himself in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.

He got the sudden urge to go to the beach, but a beach nearby wouldn't do. Whenever he was dealing with tough situations he always went to find an escape whether it be in a book store or trips to visit family. Now he wanted to go to a beach. Where? Florida of course. He had some friends down there that he could visit. Why deal with this heat in NYC when you can enjoy it on the sands of Ft. Lauderdale or Jacksonville?

Bobby stood and began walking down the path back to his apartment. Would he really do it? Probably not. But the thought of leaving this city distracted from his recent revelations.


End file.
